Interview: Kerrelyn Sparks, 'Wild About You'

Interview: Kerrelyn Sparks, 'Wild About You'

Kerrelyn Sparks might have gone her entire life without writing a boo k— and that would have been a tragedy, considering that she was a success right out of the gate. Her first novel, How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire, became a Borders best-selling debut romance of 2005, and each book in her Love at Stake series has become a USA TODAY best seller. She hit The New York Times best-seller list on her fourth book, The Undead Next Door. Mixing paranormal romance with humor, Sparks clearly has a style all her own, one that readers love. We sat down with Sparks to talk about the self-doubt that almost ended her writing career before it began and what’s so funny about paranormal creatures.

Pamela: When I read that you’d always wanted to write books but hadn’t tried because you initially didn’t believe in yourself, I wanted to give you a big hug. What drove you finally to give it a try? And what would you say to all of the people out there who have dreams but are afraid of chasing them?

Kerrelyn: I’ll take that hug, thank you!

I fell in love with books as a young girl, before the Internet, in a time when authors weren’t easily accessible. They seemed far away, and I suspected they all lived in Scotland. And since a good author could transport me into the minds of characters, so that I laughed and sighed, suffered and cried with them and lived in their time and place, I could only conclude that authors had to be magical. It simply wasn’t something an ordinary person like me could pull off.

I continued to read into adulthood, wishing I could write like my favorite authors, and ignoring the characters who whispered interesting lines in my head. It’s so easy to procrastinate. There’s always laundry or dishes to do, always children needing something. I procrastinated quite well until I reached 42, and then I realized I was likely to continue on that same path until I reached the end of my life. Did I want to lie on my deathbed, regretting that I hadn’t even tried to write? It was a gamble, writing a book and not knowing if it would ever be published. But I had to at least try. Even if I failed, I could take pride in saying I gave it my best shot.

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I started writing, and two years later, I celebrated my first sale. Of course then I wanted to give myself a V-8 slap on the face for not starting earlier! But even today, after writing a dozen books, I still struggle with self-doubt. I’ve learned that it can be a good thing. It keeps me on my toes, always learning and striving to improve. So I would urge others to not let self-doubt stop you. Use it to push yourself forward and go for your dream!

Pamela: Have you always had such a fantastic sense of humor? Were you someone who always made your friends laugh when you were a kid?

Kerrelyn: I do recall people laughing, although I wasn’t always sure that was a good thing. I’m actually a bit shy, but I discovered that on stage I could pretend to be someone else. I was in 15 shows in high school (musicals and mime troupe, where I was, indeed, a clown). I was also a member of a USO troop that entertained at veterans hospitals and Fort Polk, La. Now I’ve discovered that books afford me an even bigger stage where I can pretend to be a lot of different people. It’s a wonderful feeling, bringing them to life. And it’s a great feeling knowing you’ve made someone smile.

Pamela: You started as an author by writing historical romance. Your first book, For Love or Country, was released in 2002 and was just reissued by Avon as an e-book under a new title, The Forbidden Lady. What drew you first to historical romance?

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Kerrelyn: Growing up, my favorite books were historical romances, especially the light and funny ones. My favorite authors were Amanda Quick, Julie Garwood and Jude Deveraux, so I wanted to write like them. I still love historical romance, and I’m so thrilled that Avon has brought that first book back to life with The Forbidden Lady. The sequel will be published for the first time next summer.

When I began writing, I didn’t know it was difficult to sell a historical romance set in America. (The Forbidden Lady is set in pre-Revolutionary War Boston.) I was lucky with that first book, but found it nigh impossible to sell the second one. That’s when I realized that my favorite historical romances, like A Knight in Shining Armor or Outlander, were also paranormal. Since I loved paranormal, too, why not give it a try? Now I feel very fortunate to do both.

Pamela: Oftentimes, paranormal themes are heavy and dark, but yours are suffused with humor. What do you find inherently funny about vamps and weres?

Kerrelyn: Well, basically, they don’t make any sense. What is Undead — dead or alive or some strange thing in between? There’s just so much that could go wrong for a vampire. He could lose a fang, like Roman in How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire. Then he could be stuck as a lopsided eater for all eternity. What if someone opens the blinds and sunlight hits his sleeping body? Does he go up in flames? What if someone locks his casket shut? What if his mind control doesn’t work on someone? What if he accidentally teleports into a swimming pool or a shark tank?

And weres — they’re a lot of fun, too. Do they howl at the moon? Shed fur on your couch? When they shift back to human form, are they left naked in embarrassing situations? So far, I’ve had a werewolf hero (Phil in Forbidden Nights with a Vampire) and a were-panther (Carlos in Eat Prey Love). The new book, Wild About You, features Howard Barr, a were-bear.

Pamela: Do your vampires and were-creatures celebrate the holidays? Do they have their own holiday traditions — a glass of sparkling blood at midnight on New Year’s, for example?

Kerrelyn: My vamps and shifters love to party! They have a ball at Halloween, another at Christmastime and a Gala Ball every spring. For special occasions, they drink Bubbly Blood, a mixture of champagne and synthetic blood. Music is provided by a band called The High Voltage Vamps. And the dances can be anything from a minuet or waltz to disco and hip hop.

Pamela: Sounds like a party worth crashing! When you switched to humorous paranormal romance, you immediately struck gold. Every book of your Love At Stake series has made the USA TODAY best-seller list, and some have been on The New York Times best-seller list. What is it about this series that readers love so much?

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Kerrelyn: This is easy to answer, because the readers write to me to tell me what they love. They love to laugh. They love the characters and the way they seem real. They love cheering for the good guys and hating the bad guys. And they love seeing the hero and heroine fall in love.

Pamela: If you had to be a paranormal creature, what would you choose to be and why?

Kerrelyn: That’s a tough one! I would love to be able to teleport like my vamps do. Imagine being in Paris in just a few seconds. But even though they can travel easily, they can only see places in the dark, and that would be sad. If I were a shifter, I’d want to be an eagle so I could fly. No matter what you choose, you need to be at the top of the food chain!

Pamela: Wild About You is the 13th book in your Love at Stake series. Was this a lucky No. 13, or did writing it drive you batty? What can you tell us about the story?

Kerrelyn: Wild About You gave me the opportunity to do something I really love — world-building. Since the hero is a were-bear, I needed to invent an entire were-bear culture. Where did they come from? How did they become shifters? How does it connect to the heroine? She’s not exactly human, either, so what’s her story?

The hero is Howard Barr, former defensive linebacker for the Chicago Bears, and now working as a security expert for the vamps. The heroine is Elsa Bjornberg who stars in a home-renovation show on television. When Howard sees her rip a sink off a wall, he knows she’s the perfect woman for a guy who shifts into a Kodiak bear. But how does he court a woman when there’s a grizzly side to his personality? It becomes even more difficult when his touch activates an ancient curse. And then there’s the villain, a nasty werewolf from Alaska. And Elsa’s aunts, who aren’t exactly human, either. Courtship can be a real bear when people want to kill you!

Pamela: Sounds like Howard and Elsa are in for some wild times. What can fans look forward to in 2013?

Kerrelyn: Oh, thank you for asking this! I’m very excited about 2013. In February, the anthology Vampires Gone Wild releases. Four novellas by four authors — Pamela Palmer, Kim Falconer, Amanda Arista and me. My novella is called V is for VampWoman, and it stars that mysterious Russian vamp, Mikhail, as the hero.

My next historical romance will release in the summer. I don’t have the title yet, but it’s the sequel to The Forbidden Lady and stars Caroline Munro, Virginia’s younger sister.

And then book No. 14 in the Love at Stake series will come out in the fall. The hero is the last of the kilted Highlander vampires, Dougal Kincaid. The title — The Vampire with the Dragon Tattoo!

Pamela Clare is an award-winning journalist and nationally best-selling author of both historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense. She loves coffee, the Colorado mountains, and her two grown sons. Her website is PamelaClare.com.